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Post by dudetyson on Sept 10, 2011 11:59:01 GMT -6
Somewhere in the Christian Gospels thread, Venger wrote this:
"Even though Nietzsche and Lovecraft were more or less atheistic materialists, I still believe they were escapist dreamers at heart. In fact, that's why we relate to them so much. They embodied both truths... that of this world and the other."
I have difficulty with this. Lately I have been fighting with a sort of unfocused daydreaming, and have (re)discovered that, unlike most people who need to check their emotions and compel themselves to think articulated thoughts, I have a continual professorial babble of words in my head which I need to suppress in order to allow feelings to emerge up through it.
This flow of words is often also a flow of imagined situations plus a handful of memories. Nothing really epic or significant or moving, just long trains of thought continually flowing through me.
Can you really be both an escapist dreamer, as well as an ubermensch who focuses on the details necessary to make their goals happen?
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Post by I AM the Way on Sept 10, 2011 12:02:05 GMT -6
Yes, I would say that is the primary struggle of the Cthulhu Cultist.
Awake!
VS
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Post by dudetyson on Sept 10, 2011 12:31:14 GMT -6
One distinction I'm starting to make is focused & meaningful visions, versus the petty babble of my unutilized mind.
I was valuing that babble as my true unrestrained self, but ironically, my true self probably requires a great, great deal of restraint: restraint of the insignificant. And part of me wants to say that nothing is insignificant to an honest person, but alas, getting anywhere at all requires ruthless prioritization.
This much should have been obvious I guess, but to think it is one thing, to live and believe it is another...
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Post by I AM the Way on Sept 11, 2011 8:09:05 GMT -6
Indeed! Here's to ruthless prioritization. Let us all raise a slimy green tentacle.
Awake!
VS
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Post by sin on Sept 12, 2011 10:12:42 GMT -6
This perspective may be of some assistance to you dude. I was speaking with a gentleman over the weekend about the use of Lucid Dreaming to problem solve. He explained to me, that he struggled for many years to regain his sanity. Once he was able to achieve effective lucid dreaming, he would spend 4-5 hours per night, in that state. If you know anything about this stasis of sleep, you understand that the body is not completely at rest. So essentially, he was depriving himself of sleep. After a period of time, it became self-induced insanity. The way he described it, what he went through, for how long and how he was able to recover from it - sounded like self-induced schizophrenia.
So while intelligent men can dream, its often an escape in favor of working and living in the waking world.
Lovecraft had struggles in his life, as did Nietzsche. Is it really difficult to accept that these men escaped to their dreams?
When I was discussing the disciplines needed to manage dreamscaping, this gentleman proclaimed: once you knock the barriers off, its bigger than you are, and nearly impossible to control.
I believe him.
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Post by glade on Sept 12, 2011 14:32:29 GMT -6
I find all too often I wish to escape. I will listen to music and dream of the way I wished things had been or turned out differently than what they have. I will daydream about my fetishes and kinky ideas, just to get way from issues, stresses and strains. I have had difficulty of late to focus to stay center. (doc says it's my depression). Yeah, I wish I had more. I love riding my bike and wish I could ride all the time and go see the sites and not get all wrapped up. Maybe if I had the mind like Lovecraft and Nietzsche, I could write it all away. AWAKE.
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Post by pseudosherlock on Sept 15, 2011 8:08:26 GMT -6
Dude, as you have said before we have similar issues and so I sort of know where you're coming from here. At least I think I do.
What I think is one of the prime issues with what you're saying is that you've combined a couple processes into one. Now, this is my opinion of how the mind works:
You have two primary forces at work. One is connected to Source, or everything, and it is where dreams come from. It funnels pure symbolic essence of the universe in to you, and everything worthwhile artistically or visionary comes from it. The second is the mechanical part of the brain that analyzes this stream based on memories and imaginings (as you mentioned) and usually creates a stream of thought that tends not to stop in your head.
What I believe Lovecraft and other great writers have done is use their mechanical brain to shape and bend these dreams or visions into a solid, physical creation. Through balance or sheer, dysfunctional juggling-act (in the case of a Lovecraft or Poe) they have managed to allow both aspects of the mind to work together to create something great.
The issue that you're having, or at least the issue that I have which your sounds like, is that the mechanical part of your brain is not controlled or at least not productive enough to grab the dreams coming in and do something with them. Instead it's running riot inside your skull, assessing the past for mistakes or opportunities, and stressing about how those things are going to affect an imaginary future.
It's not the dreaming that's the problem. It's gaining control and momentum of your dreams that is. It's when they paralyze you and all you do is escape into them without creating an outward expression of them that you feel like a failure and powerless.
Just my thoughts...
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